Teulisna basigera (Walker, [1865])

Volynkin, Anton V., 2023, On the taxonomy of the genus Teulisna Walker from India with a description of a new species (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae: Lithosiini), Zootaxa 5351 (3), pp. 380-388 : 381

Teulisna basigera (Walker, [1865])

( Figs 1–4 , 14 , 18 )

Cossa basigera Walker, [1865] 1864 , List of the specimens of lepidopterous insects in the collection of the British Museum, 31: 233 (Type locality (hereby fixed by lectotype designation): [S India, Tamil Nadu, Coimbatore] “ Coimbatoor ”).

Type material examined. Lectotype (hereby designated) ( Fig. 1 ): male. “ Coimbatoor . | S. India | M. J. Walhouse | 61–20.” / “ Cossa basigera .” / green ring “Type” label / QR-code label with unique ID “ NHMUK010401790 ” ( NHMUK).

Additional material examined. INDIA: 1 male, 1 female, Tamil Nadu, Nilgiri Hills, Ooty-Kotagiri road, 2200m, 12.vii.1990, W. Thomas leg., gen. prep. Nos.: ZSM Arct. 2021-365 (male), ZSM Arct. 2021-366 (female) (prepared by Volynkin) ( MWM / ZSM) ; 1 male, 1 female, Nilgiri Hills, H.L. Andrewes , 7000 ft., Pykara , iv.[19]13 / H.L. Andrewes, 212-1935 / See diary for data, gen. prep. Nos.: AV7111 (male), AV7110 (female) ( OUMNH) .

Note. Walker ([1865] 1864) described the species based on an uncertain number of males from “South Hindostan”. In order to stabilise the nomenclature, the male syntype specimen labelled as “ Type ” and deposited in the NHMUK collection is hereby designated as the lectotype.

Diagnosis. The forewing length is 14.0–15.0 mm in males and 15.5–16.5 mm in females. Teulisna basigera is reminiscent of T. inducta ( Figs 5–8 ) but the male is distinguished by the somewhat larger size (the forewing length is 13.0– 13.5 mm in T. inducta ), the dark brown head and thorax (they are pale ochreous brown in the congener), the lack of the cluster of androconial scales along the vein M subbasally, and the paler abdomen having blackish scales only subapically whereas T. inducta has a distal half of the abdomen covered with blackish scales. The male of T. basigera is also similar to T. munnara sp. n. ( Figs 12–13 ) but can be separated by the lack of the cluster of androconial scales along the vein M subbasally, and the lack of the yellowish costal spot postmedially. The female of the current species differs from T. inducta in the larger size (the forewing length is 13.5–14.5 mm in T. inducta ), the dark brown head and thorax (they are pale ochreous brown in the congener), the somewhat broader forewing with a more subapically convex costal margin, and the absence of the discal spot on the forewing. The male genital capsule of T. basigera differs clearly from T. inducta ( Fig. 15 ) in the shorter vinculum with vestigial sclerotised structures in it. In the valva of T. basigera , the sacculus is markedly narrower than in T. inducta and bearing a shorter but broader distal process, the ampulla is larger and more heavily setose, and the valva apex is narrower and more rounded than the corresponding structures of the similar congener. The juxta of T. basigera is pentagonal plate-like whereas it is strongly elongate and more or less conical in T. inducta . Compared to T. inducta , the phallus of T. basigera is shorter and is almost straight whereas it is somewhat upcurved medially in the congener. In the vesica, T. basigera differs from T. inducta in the presence of a basal cornutus, the narrower medial section lacking the cluster of short triangular cornuti, the broader dorsal diverticulum bearing a basally broader apical cornutus, and the longer, narrower and bilobate ventral diverticulum bearing a markedly shorter cornutus on the lateral lobe (whereas in T. inducta , the ventral diverticulum is unilobate and sack-like). The female genitalia of T. basigera differ from T. inducta ( Fig. 19 ) in the longer apophyses anteriores, the markedly shorter ductus bursae, the shorter posterior (narrow) section of the corpus bursae with a considerably smaller postero-lateral diverticulum, the anterior section of the corpus bursae having a gelatinous lateral protrusion and lacking the signum, and the smaller and smooth appendix bursae, which is rugose in the congener.

Distribution. South India (Tamil Nadu).

Figures

FIGURES 1–8. Teulisna spp.: adults. Depositories of the specimens: 1, 5, 7 and 8 in NHMUK (©The Trustees of NHMUK); 2, 3 and 6 in MWM/ZSM; 4 in OUMNH.

FIGURES 14–15. Teulisna spp.: male genitalia. Depositories of the specimens dissected: 14 in OUMNH; 15 in MWM/ZSM.

FIGURES 18–21. Teulisna spp.: female genitalia. Depositories of the specimens dissected: 18 and 20 in OUMNH; 19 in NHMUK (©The Trustees of NHMUK); 21 in MWM/ZSM.

FIGURES 9–13. Teulisna spp.: adults. Depositories of the specimens: 9 and 10 in OUMNH; 11 in NHMUK (©The Trustees of NHMUK); 12 and 13 in MWM/ZSM.